Being a drummer myself, I’ve always obsessed over the gods of blast beats and double bass. However, some gods are just plain better than others. These in particular are gods of the highest quality (okay I’ll stop). Also, they’re all coming out with new material that should be nothing less than face-melting. So without further ado, I present to you my 5 favorite drummers OF ALL TIME…EVER…IN EXISTENCE.
5. Mike Portnoy – I’m not even a huge fan of Dream Theater, but you can’t deny the greatness of Portnoy. He’s incredibly technical and has contributed a lot to the drumming world. I’ve listened to his side project, Liquid Tension Experiment, so many times, and each time I listen to it I always hear something new. He’s an amazing drummer with a ton of talent. After leaving Dream Theater, he’s now started a new “project” called Adrenaline Mob along with Russell Allen, the singer of Symphony X. While I’m not super excited for the project, I’m definitely interested to see what Portnoy has up his sleeve to make Dream Theater jealous that they didn’t take him back.
4. Brann Dailor – The drummer of epic progressive/psychedelic band Mastodon, Brann is one of those types of people that I would feel more than comfortable being naked with. Maybe that’s just me, but he’s just got that “I’ve known this guy for hundreds of years” look. Also, he’s still relatively young (only 36) and yet he’s put out more impressive works than a lot of other great drummers out there, which makes me really, REALLY excited to see what kind of stuff he puts out there into the music scene. Speaking of stuff going out there, Mastodon is coming out with a new album, The Hunter, later this year, and boy am I looking forward to it. Very intrigued to see how they follow up an amazing album like Crack the Skye, but I have the utmost faith in these musical geniuses.
3. Danny Carey – Carey, the drummer for a butt load of bands, most notable Tool, is one of those types of people who takes his job very seriously. And when I say very seriously, I mean studying random Hindu and Indian drumming techniques to further his undeniable weirdness. But that’s okay, because it gives me more satisfaction knowing that his drumming techniques comes from some far away land that only monks and some crazy man named Danny Carey know of. Carey is currently touring with some of his other, lesser known bands, such as VOLTOI and RAJAS. You should check them out, as should I. Also, here’s a video of him “Drum Dueling” with Brann Dailor. Make sure you have an extra pair of pants ready before you start watching. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDHnME0LZ2w[/youtube]
2. Sean Reinert – This guy is good. Really good. Just listen to literally any track off of Cynic’s Focus or Traced in Air and you’ll enter a new dimension inhabited by amazing drumming and jazz hands, because this heavily jazz influenced drummer is just that awesome. Speaking of which, is it just me or are most great drummers influenced by jazz? Anyhoo, Reinert’s done more than just Cynic. He’s influenced almost all of the new jazz metal that’s recently been popping up. Speaking of new jazz metal, Reinert recently announced that Cynic is coming out with a new album by the end of the year. Two words: CANNOT WAIT.
1. Martin Lopez – You may be asking yourself, “Why is Lopez number one when people like Lars Ulrich or Dave Lombardo aren’t even on here?” Here is my answer: Deliverance. I’ll say it one more time: Deliverance. Have you ever listened to that song? No? Go listen to it. Right now. I’ll wait. Done? Good. Now you know. Lopez is by far the most clever drummer I’ve ever heard. Every time I listen to a song of his, I can’t help but laugh to myself because of the random nuances that he places inside his drumming techniques. He’s not the most technical or the fastest, but he’s by far the most unique. Unfortunately, he left Opeth before their newest album Watershed. However, Lopez has been hard at work with a new band called Anuryzm, and I’m more than excited to hear what he’s still got left in the tank.
About the author
Loud Rock Director - Punk dude with Metal and Hardcore undertones. Constantly stage diving and high fiving!